Michael Barrick's Belated Apology to Vernon Robinson

Wall Watchers Ministries ^ | 02/20/04 | Michael Barrick

[conservativegadfly1]

Mea Culpa by Michael Barrick. 02-20-2004.

I got a few things wrong in a recent column

When the publisher of a national Christian weekly – a writer known for his direct and pointed prose – suggests to me that I was over the top in a column I wrote about a North Carolina congressional candidate, then I was over the top.

He wasn’t the first to suggest it, though. So have a few of my colleagues and, not surprisingly, the subject of the column, Vernon Robinson.

Mr. Robinson is one of many candidates running for the open 5th Congressional seat in the upper Piedmont of North Carolina. He placed a monument of the Ten Commandments and other historical documents in front of the Winston-Salem City Hall, where he serves as a councilman, on the day the city was closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I criticized him for it, questioning his motives – suggesting it was because of the political combat in which he is engaged that he did it.

Mr. Robinson took exception to my column.

He said I was wrong on many counts, not the least being his motives. Indeed, I was mistaken in two ways – through acts of omission and then basing my judgment regarding his motivations on incomplete information caused by those omissions.

First, I said that one of Mr. Robinson’s opponents had the endorsement of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore. I was wrong. Though Mr. Moore had allegedly, through a third party, offered a tentative endorsement – and that was reported in local news media – I should have checked the claim of an endorsement with Moore’s office directly. I did not and am wrong for that omission. And, I complicated this error further by asserting that Mr. Robinson was motivated, at least in part, by the alleged endorsement.

Additionally, I reported that the monument was placed on city property in violation of city code. It was not. Instead, according to Winston-Salem city attorney Ron Seeber, Mr. Robinson was in violation of a resolution – not an ordinance or code – passed last autumn by the city council. However, Mr. Robinson disagrees that the resolution in question even applies to his placement of the monument on city property.

Also, I left readers with the impression that Mr. Robinson’s placement of the monument was spontaneous, when in fact he had apparently talked to others about it for some time.

My greatest error was in ascribing a motivation to Mr. Robinson’s actions based on incomplete information. I generally, even in opinion pieces, share the facts and let the reader draw his or her own conclusions. In this case however, I stated that I knew Mr. Robinson’s motivations. Motivations are always fair game in politics and other spheres of power and influence since sometimes those seeking positions of power do not do so to serve others. Nevertheless, one must have complete information before making such judgments. And, of course, nobody can read a person’s mind or heart, so I could not possibly know with certainty what motivated Mr. Robinson to do what he did. In this sense especially, I was, as my colleague said, “over the top.”

It is important that readers understand that these errors do not reflect upon the accuracy of the articles customarily found on thegoodsteward.com. We take seriously the stewardship responsibility in writing and publishing articles so that readers can read with confidence; and I understand the inherent irony – considering our publication’s title – in failing to meet these standards, not just regularly, but every time.

In this case, I did not adhere to the standards for which we have become known. For that and any inconvenience caused to anyone by my column about Mr. Robinson, I apologize.

© Wall Watchers, 2004

[conservativegadfly1]

"I got a few things wrong in a recent column." What an understatement.

[GeronL]

Does Vernon Robinson have any legal recourse at all??

Assuming he thought the article had any impact whatsoever on the campaign?

[BillaryBeGone]

As my husband is prone to say with increasing frequency, "God help us. We're not ready for self-government." At times like this, I suspect his statement is more truth than poetry.

[GeronL]

since sometimes those seeking positions of power do not do so to serve others.

understatement

[Bob J]

Sounds like the Nathan Tabor Campaign has been up to it's ususal disinformation. Too bad this columnist got suckered by it.

[Huber]

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[Admin Moderator]

[Huber]

It was big of Michael Barrick to admit his mistake. Conservatives are not flawless, but they do the right thing and make amends when they recognize that they have wrongly caused harm. This is reassuring!

[Admin Moderator]

<img src="http://pstr-g02.ygpweb.aol.com/data/009/76/87/63/1B/0YaEBAaQT-DvGp5uUc+AIG0S1NZdnLm50060.jpg">

I removed height= at the beginning and width= at the end. I also removed a space before img. The rest of your tag was correct.

[Huber]

Thank you!

[JohnnyZ]

Why is Michael Barrick running around writing columns pontificating about Vernon Robinson?

[Huber]

My guess: Since Michael Barrick used the same political consultants (Tech5) as Nathan Tabor, a link is not an unreasonable assumption.

[conservativegadfly1]

When Barrick was asked about the column, he said he was supporting Tabor and then added, "Vernon Robinson is a public figure. I can say anything I want about him and he can't sue me. I don't care if it's right (referring to the demonstrably false allegations in his own column). I am going to do everything in my power to see to it that Vernon Robinson is not elected to Congress."

Barrick wrote only a portion of this apology and he did so under protest when his boss, Rusty Leonard, insisted that he do so. Barrick and integrity are strangers to each other.

[JohnnyZ]

What says the Soy Boy?

[Huber]

Your points may be right, but I believe that Barrick may also have prayed on the matter before issuing his apology. It may have taken some intervention to get him to the point of recognizing how out of line he was, but the point is that he has now acknowledged it.

I also know that Vernon is a big enough man to graciously accept his apology and forgive him.

[Huber]

Johnny,

It would be inappropriate for Nathan or his consultants to reply to your post.

However, as the attacks have increased in shrillness, a lot of the folks whom I know in NC5 who have supported the Tabor campaign in the past are now beginning to have serious second thoughts.

[Huber]

PS: As you know, unlike the outspoken Tabor supporters on these threads, I am not on anyone's payroll.

My support for Vernon is because I know him well, strengths as well as faults, and knowing him well, I admire him as that rare breed, a courageous and principled conservative, whom I am proud to call "friend."